Breaking Ships and Asbestos

Breaking ships at the end of their lives (versus sinking them to be a reef in the Ocean or turning them into museums) is big business with a lot of battles between purchasers/countries that want the business and steel against environmental and labor groups. Publicity matters; a lot. Just Google ” aircraft carrier San Paulo” and read about the high stakes as this ship has ping ponged between countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_aircraft_carrier_S%C3%A3o_Paulo

Note that asbestos related issues are the first of the hazardous wastes listed in the above article on the aircraft carrier Sao Paulo.

Breaking ships is especially critical to the employment needs of developing countries like Bangladesh. An especially good book is Breaking Ships: How Supertankers and Cargo Ships are Dismantled on the Beaches of Bangladesh authored by Roland Buerk in 2006. It is somewhat out of date but, still, an excellent starting point.

If you are interested in how this global industry works in Bangladesh, this book is an easy read and very descriptive. The scope of topics is much broader than just the ship breaking itself as it covers the downstream use of the materials purchased for scrap.

Tough stuff, all around.

Let me know what you think about this post either in the comments or by email to TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. All comments are appreciated. Marty